NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7 – Ruth Chepngetich will defend her marathon title at the World Athletics Championships slated for Oregon, USA in July.
The 27-year-old leads the four-strong women’s team for Oregon, while Geoffrey Kamworor will contest his first major championship marathon as part of the men’s squad.
As Chepngetich gets a wild card entry by virtue of being the defending champion, Kenya will be represented by seven athletes in the marathon events.
Chepngetich claimed the first gold medal of the World Championships in Doha in 2019, clocking 2:32:43 to gain her first major gold. She went on to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last October and then was just 10 seconds off her PB when winning the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in 2:17:18 last month – the second-fastest ever women-only marathon.
In Oregon she will be joined by Maureen Jepkemoi, Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui. Jeptum set a French all-comers’ record of 2:19:48 to win the Paris Marathon on Sunday, while Tanui won the 2021 TCS Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57.
After world medal wins in track, cross country and half marathon events, Kamworor will look to add further success to a marathon CV that so far includes two wins in New York and a PB of 2:05:23 set in Valencia in December.
Lining up alongside the three-time world half marathon champion and two-time world senior cross-country winner in Oregon will be Olympic marathon fourth-place finisher Lawrence Cherono and Barnabas Kiptum, with Geoffrey Kirui named as a reserve.
-Kenyan marathon team for Oregon-
Women: Ruth Chepngetich, Maureen Jepkemoi, Judith Jeptum, Angela Tanui
Men: Lawrence Cherono, Geoffrey Kamworor, Barnabas Kiptum, Geoffrey Kirui (reserve)
